Thunder Pressure

After doing TWBtM and Pigpen, I was allured by the line that takes you to the top of the face. I scoped what I thought were features from the ground and then set up a rope over the line. During the cleaning process, I was surprised to find that those features were little more than ripples in the rock. Fortunately, I discovered a new line of holds that offered a fantastic line to the ledge. Suprisingly, almost no loose rock was encountered during cleaning and after scrubbing off the lichen, a series of unique and solid holds revealed themselves.

The climb starts the same as TWBtM, then midway busts out right with a lunge to a tasty dorito sidepull. From here, make some committing moves and navigate through a sloper jug, two jutting crystal holds, a grainy flat edge, and a feldspar knob to find yourself on the ledge. The true summit lies another 10-12 feet up a vertical face (uncleaned), but this seemed like a logical finish since the remaining climbing would be X-rated.

Setting up a rope on this climb is STRONGLY recommened. A couple years back, the massive pine that shaded Indian Summer was struck by lightning and exploded. A large portion of the trunk now rests in the landing. A fall from up high on this boulder would be awkward and unpredictable at best, even with ample padding. Furthermore, there is no easy way off the ledge. Presumably, you could shuffle to the left side of the ledge and downclimb ~6 feet to the sloping top out of Indian Summer, but this scramble looked scary and insecure. While rapping is not my preferred method of descent from a boulder, it seems like a necessity here.

If you're a highball enthusiast like me who is willing to put in a little effort to climb this thing, you will be rewarded with engaging movement and unique holds. 8b is the gift that keeps on giving.

Start the same as TWBtM and trend right. See attached topo photo.

As many pads as possible and a spotter to keep you from tumbling off the backside of the large log in the landing. A top rope is recommended for inspection and necessary for safe descent.